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Cultural policy in post-conflict situations: The case
study of Kosovo

Thesis extract


The aim of the research can be thus outlined:

a) Analysing the international regulatory framework with regards to the
preservation of cultural heritage;
b) Describing and analysing the history and cultural heritage of a country
in a post-conflict scenario: the case of Kosovo;
c) Analysing the country-specific regulations with regards to cultural
heritage;
d) Identifying a relevant promotional project in the analysed country:
Ulpiana;
e) Outlining the conditions for the creation of an archaeological park;
f) Defining the details of a project of archaeological park implementation
according to the best practises of the P.I.S.A. model, based on the
observation of the case study of another post-conflict location: Jericho,
Palestine;
g) Assessing if the implementation of the park could be used as an
instrument of mediation for the local communities.

In order to carry out the outlined analysis, an extensive assessment of the
regulatory context was required with regards to cultural heritage in post-
conflict countries.

Kosovos is the latest conflict that took place within European borders. The
main United Nations agencies have been called in to carry out consulting
activity for the development of domestic regulations.

The study analysed the principal international conventions, such as 1954
Hague convention (protocols I and II), the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the
1995 UNIDROIT Convention, as well as the National Law No. 2/L-88
appointed by UNMIK.

The first Convention analysed is the 1954 Hague Convention, which
introduced new concepts never appeared before. Among these are the
definition of the concept of cultural heritage, and the logic of safeguarding and
protecting the latter in the event of armed international conflicts, the definition
of the rules according to which both fighting Parties have to prohibit every
illicit act towards the worlds cultural heritage.
A critic analysis of the Convention found that the impreciseness of the clauses
of this act, and the lack of specific acting measure, threatens the conditions
for the protection of Cultural assets. This results in a lack of complete
definition of the duties that Governments have to comply with in the case of
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a conflict. In addition, the definition of conflict leaves many situations out of
the scope of the Convention.
For instance, the Balkan conflict was generated within the borders of a single
country, and was not subject to the clauses of the Convention, as the latter
did not apply to conflicts with ethnic-religious connotation.

The second analysed Convention, the 1970 UNESCO Convention, deals with
the illicit import-export of cultural assets.
It was introduced by UNESCO in order to protect and safeguard cultural
heritage at times of peace, trying to deal with the illegal export carried out by
venal agents such as museums, private collectors and auction houses,
enforcing penal and administrative sanctions (art. 6.a, 7.a) and to designate
national structures dedicated to the protection and safeguard of the mobile
cultural heritage (art.5). An example of such a national body is to be found in
Italy, with the Comando di Carabinieri a military branch dedicated to the
protection of cultural heritage.
A critical analysis of this Convention highlights its lack of pricision, as it
delegates some national bodies to deal with the restitution of cultural assets,
when these are disputed. It features and imprecise juridical rhetoric that falls
short from enforcing obligations, but limits itself to recommending to adopt
the necessary measures, in compliance with national regulations. Only a few
Countries adopted National regulations that are compatible with this
Convention.

The last analysed Convention is the 1995 UNIDROIT convention, which first
introduces the definition of the concept of theft related to cultural heritage as
those assets that have been unlawfully excavated or lawfully excavated but
unlawfully retained shall be considered stolen, when consistent with the law of
the State where the excavation took place. However, it doesnt mention the
difference between those assets stolen within a country or in a country
undergoing a secession process.
According to this Convention, there would be no certainty of the due
restitution of those assets stolen in Kosovo during the conflict, because there
was formally no illicit exportation, as the Serbian Government seized the
assets at a time when Kosovo was part of Serbia. As a matter of fact,
nowadays the only way to effectively face the question is encouraging
bilateral talks between the two countries. This negotiation is currently
undergoing, under the supervision of the mixed commission for the
restitution of cultural heritage. No restitution has taken place yet.
The circulation of cultural assets has been one of the points negotiated in the
resolution 1244 between Serbia and Kosovo.
The international regulatory instruments, though they feature the willingness
of safeguarding and protecting cultural heritage a concept first introduced
and regulated in the mid XXI century are still incomplete and they are not
always applicable to non international situations, especially because they do
not enforce the clauses for the restitution with enough precision, nor they
establish a system of sanctions.
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Without the intervention of the international tribunal for crimes in former
Yugoslavia, the current international regulation would have not provided with
means for facing the situation of disaggregation. The International Tribunal
introduces some innovative steps, that partially hindered the validity of the
formerly analysed Conventions, but that also allowed the full applicability of
the Hague Convention to the Yugoslavian case, quoting concepts of military
necessity instituting the prohibition of the usage of cultural heritage in any
military conflict, and strengthened the application of safeguarding to the
assets on a special protection plan.
This innovations had been quoted in the II protocol of 1999, even though their
effect has been limited by the scarce adoption by countries with strong
interest in the import-export of cultural heritage. However, some precedents in
international right are designing new sceneries.
Eventually it is possible to say that the Balkan cultural heritage is affected by
the lack of both internal and external juridical regulations that could protect it.
Referring to Cultural Genocide is appropriate in the Balkan Peninsula, as the
succession of ethnic conflicts brought to the mass destruction of cultural
heritage of the various ethnic groups, with a continuous chase for the
destruction of the opponents cultural roots.
With regards to Kosovo, and referring to the period of the conflict, it is
possible to identify four different phases: the beginning of the civil war
between the two ethnic groups (1998, 1999), the NATO bombing (1999), the
return of the Albanian ethnic group, and the post-war period (after 2003). The
greatest part of cultural heritage has been destroyed or stolen by the
withdrawing Serbian troops during the second and third phases of the conflict.
The fourth phase also featured some cases of destructions, mainly addressed
to Orthodox Christian buildings. The latter were operated as a reaction from
the ethnic Albanians but some were also sadly linked to some ill-conceived
restoration of the Islamic Ottoman heritage.
It must be noted that Kosovos is one of the few cases in which some oft the
measures for the protection of cultural heritage have been applied, and its
culture assets nowadays appear in the list of endangered cultural heritage.
NATO forces and the KFOR carried out missions with the aim to protect some
particularly relevant monasteries, and they cooperated in applying the
safeguarding measures of the Hague Convention, deploying a team of
qualified professionals.
The Kosovar cultural heritage has been identified several times as being
composed of buildings of (Serbian) Orthodox origin. A more in-depth analysis
was then necessary, in order to take account of the complete history of the
country, from its origin to modern days, and give a more thorough account of
its cultural heritage
This work has been dealt with in the second Chapter, where an in-depth
analysis with an historical and qualitative approach classified all the types of
Kosovar cultural assets. It took account of the varied and rich heritage linked
to the first inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula, starting from the Neolithic,
featuring the Stareva and Vinca cultures, to the Dardanian Kingdom, the
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Roman Empire, the Golden Byzantine Age (starting from the secession of the
Eastern Roman Empire), the Serbian orthodox period and eventually the
Ottoman age.
The most internationally appealing assets are part of the Orthodox heritage,
especially promoted by UNESCO, thanks to the inclusion of several of these
assets in the international list of endangered heritage. It must be noted that
Kosovos sovereignty is not recognised by the United Nations, and the
process of safeguarding and recuperation of its heritage is related to the state
of bilateral agreements with Serbia; bearing this in mind it was considered
appropriate to explore the positive influence of the UNESCO brand and
patronage on the territory. Not only provides promotional and specific support,
but it also funded restoration and safeguarding operations when needed, in a
context that wouldnt otherwise have found interest and resources.
Before going through the principal aspect of this research a project proposal
of integrated promotion of a cultural heritage site in Kosovo it is useful to
review the juridical instruments instituted by the Kosovar government.
Kosovar cultural heritage has not been considered so far something worth
investing on by Governments, or a potential development driver. The only law
has been issued by the Provisional State of Kosovo in conjunction with the
UNMIK Mission in 2006. Unfortunately the norm lacks of precision and, and it
does not include basic concepts with regard to the protection of cultural
heritage. Even the concept of tutelage does not appear (the closest concept is
heritage protection), the notion of promotion is not mentioned.
Also with regards to the case of Ulpiana, the site chosen a target for the
project developed in this study, its evident how the Kosovar jurisdiction does
not provide with the right terms to define an Archaeological Park, as this term
is not included in the list of established concepts. The exact terminology to
define archaeological areas includes the definitions of monuments
perimeter, protected zone, protected area or special area. The Ulpiana
site is currently listed as an archaeological reserve, a particularly interesting
area which lies arund individual findings during archaeological diggings; this
area is currently expected to receive a temporary protection (sadly only
partially adopted in the case of Ulpiana).
In the third Chapter, the proposal of a promotional project for the Ulpiana site
in central Kosovo is outlined, with the support of the theoretical framework
analysed in the first two chapters. The study adopter the P.I.S.A.
methodology, which has already been used in some post-conflict situations,
and was applied with especially good results in the case of the archaeological
area of Jericho, the comparative best practice used during the planning
process of the Ulpiana site.
The reason why Ulpiana has been chosen as a target for the development of
this promotional project is linked to the site potential, as it lies next to the
capital city, and it is remarkable in its extension (which some archaeologists
described as a small Pompei in Kosovo), for its historical relevance (a
unique evidence in the central Balkan area), and for the continuous
succession of seven centuries of history and coexistence of the local
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Dardanian culture, together with the Roman and Byzantine ones, not to
mention the environmental beauty of the location.
The choice of the P.I.S.A (Acronym for Integrated planning in archaeological
sites) a program promoted by the European union is due to the integrated
approach of the latter, which combines different qualitative and quantitative
analysis methods that are suitable for any environment. It also allows the easy
comparison with other successful case studies lying in the Mediterranean
basin.
Jericho was chosen as a comparative case study based on the success of the
promotional project of the archaeological area carried out by an Italian-
Palestinian team of archaeologists. Other similarities worth noting are the
post-conflict scenario, the context of social and politic instability, the
accessibility, the definition and current use of the analysed areas, the lack of
appropriate legislation and conservation and the continuous decline of the
infrastructural network.
I outlined the project thinking of it, in both cases, as the development of an
archaeological park that could serve as a driver for the improvement of the
cooperation activity within the local community, with the involvement of the
authorities.
The overall promotion project of the Ulpiana site has been defined in a series
of strategic interventions, which set up the direction to be followed in
consideration of the above-mentioned methodology. The strategic plans
analyse the main characteristics, such as the ownership, the juridical
definition, research and knowledge, the overall management and accessibility
of the park, the protection and conservation of the park, as well as the
promotion and sustainable development.
One of the main points of the management plan is the creation of an
autonomous body that could create a general plan of promotion (or Master
Plan) for the management and coordination of the activities within the Ulpiana
park, among which would feature maintenance, surveillance, marketing and
communication. The referential framework for the management should identify
the right professionals to put in charge, bearing in mind the respect for ethnic
diversity, especially with regards to the appointment of high management
figures. The Master plan should also respect the environmental and
landscape requirements of all the council and municipalities touched by the
development.
Subsequently in the development of the project, the juridical framework has
been identified, and the ownership problematic immediately arose. In order to
tackle the former, the suggestion is to institute a protected area with more
restrictive status than what is currently offered by the regulation No.2/L-88.
This should include the presence of nearby areas of interest, and should
consider the possibility of the acquisition of the lots adjacent to the current
archaeological digging. In addition, it essential that the national jurisdiction
gets updated and the concept of archaeological park included and defined.
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The awareness of the Ulpiana site is still low both on the scientific side
(outcomes of the digging) and on the audience side (awareness of locals).
The majority of Pristina inhabitants think Ulpiana is a city district.
Ulpianas archaeological park should engage in a short-term promotional
activity in order to involve the local community and spread the knowledge of
the site on various geographical area (heritage promotion on a local, Balkan,
and international level) and then start a long term process (definition of a
digging plan for the area adjacent to the current site, which should take into
account the research, the site presentation and its conservation).
The work carried out at Ulpiana has never been integrated in an overall
digging plan that took into consideration the need for the conservation of the
site and its presentation for educative purposes. Nowadays, it is crucial to
develop an integrated plan together with local education authorities, and to
involve Universities in some project for continuation of the digging in the areas
surrounding the site, as well as to continuous current explorations.
The exploration phase needs a deep knowledge of the territory and of the
past human development that can be obtained from archived evidences
originated from the area of the site (the municipalities of Graanica, Lipjan
and Pristina). Many of these evidence are nowadays abroad, in Belgrade, or
in other Balkan museums.
One of the priorities is the research and cataloguing of those evidences that
either legally or illegally left the country following the war or the first digging
activities. In order to go on with the promotion of the site it is very important
that those evidence originating from the area are stored (physically or
digitally), catalogued. The new research activity may bring benefits to the local
populations in the form of economic, social and politic opportunities.
In the strategic protection and conservation plan, the Ulpiana site was divided
into sections, in order to facilitate the comprehension of the interventions
carried out. These have been divided in to two types: short term for the most
urgent, and long term for those prevention interventions. The majority of
urgent intervention concern water infiltration and the stabilizing of the walls.
The long term interventions concern the continuation of the digging activity as
well as the diagnosing operations to be carried out with geologic analysis,
photography monitoring, and continuous reports on the conservation state.
With regards to conservation, the essential activity is maintenance, currently
the main cause of the sites decline. However, there is a wider list of activities
to be performed, including protection and the definition of the areas to be
opened to the public, with the creation of guided visit paths, limiting
circulation, the reconstruction and restoration of some parts ( such as the
walls of the Northern Gate), the construction of a fenced perimeter, the
reparation of the digging holes, an overall waste and plants cleaning, and the
establishment of a significant vigilance system.
The road infrastructure leading to the park is generally well developed. The
proximity of the airport and the capital city boost the park potential. The
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proposed entrances to the park are two. One located in the centre of
Graanica (where the second interest pole lies) and the other on the highway
connecting the site with the city of Graanica.
The park should be connected to other cultural resources, which lie in the
proximity of the site. These resources are the Graanica monastery, the
Veleting archaeological site, the Gradnica and Badovc archaeological sites,
the mining site of Kishnica and Lipjan orthodox churches. Some branch
extensions of the park have been proposed, in order to create thanks to the
support of a developed road network a cultural itinerary that could include
the whole of Kosovo.
The promotion of the site is particularly linked to improvements in
accessibility, the creation and organisation of visit paths, to the setting of
those instruments of communication aimed at spreading information about the
site (informative signage, exhibition spaces with texts in Serb, Albanian and
English, a ticket office), to the promotion of activities to support the immaterial
cultural heritage. In addition to this, the promotional activity cannot do without
the creation of a museum informative centre, the development of a cultrural
promotional campaign, the creation of services for the visitors, such as a
catering venue, accessibility network and hospitality services. These
strategies for the presentation of the site refer to the short to medium term,
bearing in mind that the great majority of the site is still to be explored. All the
long term promotional activities will be influenced by the outcome of future
diggings.
The main opportunities of the park are related to the development of cultural
and sustainable tourism. The possible development of Dark tourism should be
welcomed, but also mediated in order to give a critic and educative view of the
recent vicissitudes of the region. Other opportunities concern the creation of
green areas and natural parks in the proximity of the site, promoting the
clean-up of nearby dumps, the development of agriculture, the utilisation of
recycled material, the installation of water management systems, and trying to
attract foreign investments and donations thanks on part to the proximity with
the airport and the capital city. There are also opportunities for collateral
developments, with the potential offer of residential properties and B&Bs
preferably managed by the local population of the municipalities of Lipjan,
Graanica and Pristina. The promotion of the immaterial cultural heritage
could also be helped by the revival of old artisan professions, as well as
educational seminars and other courses.
The development of such a promotional project in the tourism field can bring
value socially, economically and politically for all the local communities of the
area, especially in the scenario in which Ulpiana is used as a driver to spread
the benefits of tourism in the wider territory of Kosovo.
The main shortcomings to work on in the context of the park, are the lack of
Kosovar professionals in the field of archaeology, territory planning,
restoration, applied marketing, environment and communication. Other
shortcomings regard the scarcity of hospitality infrastructures, and the lack of
clarity in the current jurisdiction with regards to the urban and territorial
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development. Not to mention the substantial lack of funds for the realisation of
the park.
The main threats for the site are the potential identification of the locals as a
site belonging to a certain ethnic group, especially considering that the
municipality of Graianica is inhabited by a majority of ethnic Serbs, in a
country with an Albanian ethnic base.
All the strategic plans include an active involvement of the most important
public and private institutions of Kosovo, such as the University of Pristina, the
IPCM, the archaeology institute of Kosovo, the Ministry of Culture, youth and
sport, the Education, science and technology ministry, the Ministry for
Tourism, Commerce and industry, the national land registry agency, the
municipalities of Pristina, Graanica and Lipjan, travel agencies, hospitality
units, INTERSOS, CHW, international agencies such as UNMIK, UNHABIT,
OSCE and foreign universities such as the Universit de Grenoble II,
Universit de Lyon, Tirana University, possibly the university of Belgrade, as
well as the American, French and Italian embassies.
The large possibility of involvement is one of the strengths of the project
presented. Only by involving all the main players it will be possible to fulfil the
third goal, that is to create a place of mediation and dialogue among all the
communities.
During the elaboration of the project I tried to apply the elements of
knowledge acquired during the fieldwork and thanks to the first hand
experience with the territory and the locals, trying hard to interpret and
mediate some of the values attached to the territory, as well as some of the
radically different positions within Kosovo, a land were West and East meet,
and that brings with it all the peculiarities of the soil where Christianity and
Islam have met, crashed, and alternated, going together through a millennial
history.